Photos Courtesy of Brian Miller

Boxscore

WILMINGTON, N.C. –A walk-off single by Brent Weiss lifted the top-seeded George Mason Patriots to a 6-5 victory over the University of Delaware baseball team on the first day of the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament at UNC Wilmington’s Brooks Field on Wednesday afternoon.

Senior slugger Bill Merkler (top right) launched a pair of home runs for Delaware (27-19), but it was not enough to outclass George Mason (41-10), who entered the game ranked 29th nationally in the latest NCBWA poll.

“That was a good playoff game with all of the ups and downs,” said head coach Jim Sherman. “It’s just a shame to come up short, because I really thought we were ready to play and had a chance to win. It’s disappointing, and now we have to take the hard road.”

With the loss, Delaware will now face an elimination game tomorrow at 12 noon against Northeastern, who lost to Georgia State, 6-5, in the second game of today’s action. The loser of Thursday's contest will be knocked out of the playoffs.

After George Mason rallied to overcome an early three-run deficit to grab the team’s first lead of the game at 4-3 in the bottom of the sixth, the game turned into a back-and-forth affair for the remaining three frames.

Trailing for the first time, Delaware responded in the top of the seventh. Merkler ripped a double off the leftfield fence before Pat Dameron worked a one-out walk. After a wild pitch allowed both runners to move into scoring position, pinch hitter Jared Olson ripped a ground ball to second that brought in Merkler to knot the game at four.

In the bottom of the eighth, George Mason untied the game after a controversial call allowed Scott Krieger to keep his at bat alive. Blue Hen starter Brian Rorick (bottom right) had the CAA Co-Player of the Year buried in an 0-2 count before his third pitch was ruled a ball. Although a debate ensued, Krieger remained at the plate and smacked a two-out, solo home run on the very next pitch to give the Patriots a 5-4 lead.

Despite the blow, the Blue Hens showed strong resolve in the top of the ninth. Merkler opened the frame by blasting the first pitch he saw well over the right centerfield fence to erase the Patriots’ lead and retie the game at five. Later, after Dameron worked a walk, Kyle Davis singled, and Carlos Alonso was hit by a pitch, Delaware had the bases loaded with two outs. Unfortunately, the squad was unable to come away with any more runs as Ryan Cuneo flew out to right.

With the game on the line, George Mason had just enough left to pull out the victory. In the bottom of the ninth, Ryan Soares poked a lead-off single through the right side of the infield before Shane Davis snuck a double just inside the right field line. With no outs and the winning run on third, the Blue Hens opted to intentionally walk Mark Hill to load the bases.

Weiss followed with the game-winning hit as he smacked a single back up the middle to bring in Soares and clinch the 6-5 victory.

Corey Crispell (5-4) took the loss after taking over in the ninth. Despite receiving a no decision, Rorick had a nice day on the mound for Delaware as the junior ace struck out seven while allowing three earned runs over eight innings of work.

Shawn Griffith (4-0) picked up the win for the Patriots.

“We came out and played well before having a little mishap in the middle innings to allow them to get back in it,” said Sherman. “Then, we thought we had Krieger struck out, but we didn’t get the call, and he hit the home run. They felt good about themselves after that, but we came right back when Merkler hit his home run. Then, we’re feeling good. It was just good playoff baseball.”

In the early going, the Blue Hens looked sharp. Alonso wasted no time extending his on-base streak to 46 games after starting the game with a single in the first. Cuneo followed with a walk before Chris Nehl drilled a ground ball to second base. While trying to flip a double play, an errant relay throw back to first allowed Alonso to hustle his way around to put the Hens up by one.

Two batters later, Merkler tacked on two more by launching a blast to dead centerfield that gave the team a 3-0 lead.

After a shaky first inning, Kevin Crum, a first-team All-CAA selection, began to settle in. He struck out three straight from the second to the third before Cuneo lined a shot back up the middle that ricocheted off the Patriot ace. Although Crum momentarily regrouped and recorded the out at first, he could not continue on the mound and was lifted for reliever Ryan Pfaeffle.

Without their ace, George Mason never gave up. In the bottom of the third, the squad scratched together a rally without the benefit of a hit. Josh Steinberg and Spencer Wiggins drew walks before Chris Henderson, the CAA Co-Player of the Year, came up as a pinch hitter. Although Rorick quickly sent him back to the dugout on three pitches, he could not keep the Patriots off the board.

Krieger eventually picked up the team’s third walk of the inning before cleanup hitter Justin Bour was hit by a pitch to pull Mason back within two at 3-1.

Two innings later, the Patriots knotted the game at three following a pair of crucial Blue Hen errors. After a Delaware miscue started the frame, Krieger worked a walk. Although Rorick put the next two hitters down in order, Shane Davis poked a single to deep left that was mishandled and eventually resulted in two runs.

With the Blue Hen offense struggling against Pfaeffle, George Mason continued its comeback. In the sixth, the squad grabbed its first lead of the day as Weiss knocked a double to right center, advanced to third on a bunt single by Ryan Uphouse, and scored following a sacrifice fly by Henderson.

Although Delaware would eventually come back twice to tie the game over the final three innings of play, Weiss delivered the final blow to lift Mason to the victory.

Weiss finished the game with three hits and a run scored. Krieger also had two hits for the Patriots, including the key solo home run in the eighth.

The Blue Hens were led by Merkler, who went 4-for-4 with three RBI and three runs scored. Alonso, Cuneo, and Davis also added hits for Delaware.